MORE NEWS, 9-7: GREAT OBAMA JOBS GUY CAUGHT IN CROSSFIRE; UN CALLS NEW GREEN DEAL URGENT; UTAH JOBS IN NEW ENERGY; VITAL CLIMATE FIGHT JOB IS COUNTING

GREAT OBAMA JOBS GUY CAUGHT IN CROSSFIRE
White House Adviser Van Jones Resigns Amid Controversy Over Past Activism
Garance Frank-Ruta and Anne E. Kornblut (w/Juliet Eilperin), September 6, 2009 (Washington Post)

"White House environmental adviser Van Jones resigned late Saturday after weeks of controversy stemming from his past activism.

"Van Jones, outgoing special adviser for green jobs, White House Council on Environmental Quality: "On the eve of historic fights for health care and clean energy, opponents of reform have mounted a vicious smear campaign against me…They are using lies and distortions to distract and divide…I came here to fight for others, not for myself. I cannot in good conscience ask my colleagues to expend precious time and energy defending or explaining my past. We need all hands on deck, fighting for the future."

Jones started doing green jobs in Oakland, where this was the question. It still is. (click to enlarge)

"Jones issued two public apologies in recent days, one for signing a petition that questioned [the Bush administration’s involvement in 9/11]…and the other for using a crude term to describe Republicans in a speech he gave before joining the administration…His one-time involvement with the Bay Area radical group Standing Together to Organize a Revolutionary Movement (STORM), which had Marxist members and leanings, had also become an issue. And on Saturday his advocacy on behalf of death-row inmate Mumia Abu-Jamal, who was convicted of shooting a Philadelphia police officer in 1981, threatened to grow as a fresh point of controversy…

"Jones, a towering figure in the environmental movement, had worked for the White House Council on Environmental Quality since March. He was a civil-rights activist in California before turning his focus to environmental and energy issues, and he won wide praise before joining the Obama administration for articulating a broad vision of a green economy Democrats could embrace."

This guy just lost his best friend in D.C. (click to enlarge)

Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.): "His extremist views and coarse rhetoric have no place in this administration or the public debate."

Senator Christopher S. Bond (R-Mo.): "Can the American people trust a senior White House official that is so cavalier in his association with such radical and repugnant sentiments?"

There is no doubt Van Jones will continue to be. And the jerks who drove him from office will continue to be a part of the problem. (click to enlarge)

Robert Gibbs, White House press secretary, thanking Jones for his service: "What Van Jones decided was that the agenda of this president was bigger than any one individual…[The President doesn't endorse, in any way, the things that Van Jones said] but he thanks him for his service…"

David Axelrod, White House adviser, on NBC's "Meet the Press": "The political environment is rough, and so these things get magnified. But the bottom line is that he showed his commitment to the cause of creating green jobs in this country by removing himself as an issue, and I think that took a great deal of commitment on his part…"

Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.): "I don't think he's the issue…I think the czars are the issue."


UN CALLS WORLD NEW GREEN DEAL URGENT
UN urges rich nations to fund new green deal fast
Sven Egenter, September 1, 2009 (Reuters)

"The world's rich countries must provide some $500 to $600 billion a year as soon as possible in a green new deal to help developing nations fight global warming, the United Nations [World Economic and Social Survey 2009] said…

"A big, government-led investment push into cleaner energy was at the core of a strategy that would allow poor countries to grow at high rates and catch up while keeping emissions low…[It was likened to a new Marshall plan and called for within 10 years]…"

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"Industrialised countries had to do much more themselves to cut emissions but the
developing countries had to join efforts in order to meet the challenges…The survey noted rich countries had a responsibility to help…[because they] still emitted 6-7 times more damaging greenhouse gases per capita then developing countries, which were much harder hit by changes such as floods or heatwaves.

"The strategy to help developing countries to a low-emission, high-growth path also had to include technology transfer and more energy-related research and development, the report said…The key, however, was quick, up-front investment in renewables, energy efficiency, transportation and forest management…"

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"Advanced countries should be able to come up with the $500 to $600 billion annually -- or one percent of world gross domestic product -- to help developing countries with the big investment push given the severe threat from climate change…[O]ther estimates of the costs of mitigating climate change and adapting to its consequences ran up to over $1 trillion per year, or some 2 percent of world gross domestic product, by 2030.

"Given the huge financing needs, radical changes to the architecture of international financing were necessary…Possible new features could include the creation of a global clean energy fund and a forest-related financing mechanism."


UTAH SEES JOBS IN NEW ENERGY
Energy makeover illustrates potential of green jobs; 'Idea House' » Cooperative project brings together students, government and green-economy pros
Judy Fahys, September 6, 2009 (Salt Lake Tribune)

"Electrician Jeff Cutrer…a father of four from Draper and a student in the Salt Lake Community College Green Academy…[recently] joined his academy classmates at the presentation of the latest "Idea House," a foreclosed home that has been updated, fitted with energy-efficient appliances, swathed in extra insulation and topped off with solar panels that can provide 3 kilowatts of clean electricity. With graduation two weeks away for their advanced photovoltaic class, they're at the front end of a booming industry.

"Utah Gov. Gary Herbert stopped in for a tour and declared the project "impressive." Also on hand were Sen. Karen Mayne, D-West Valley City, and Rep. Eric Hutchings, R-Kearns…"

Utah is getting in on the trend. (click to enlarge)

"Orrin Farnsworth, president of [the Utah Solar Association (USA)], said these training programs fill an acute need in the market. He has twice as many customers this year as last…[and can't get enough people trained fast enough]…

"Green technology jobs are expected to grow by up to 40,000 a year nationwide, Farnsworth added…[T]he future looks bright for solar on a number of fronts."

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"For one, the cost is coming down. Last year alone, prices dropped 25 to 30 percent, according to the USA. A [typical] system…would cost about $25,000, not counting incentives that cut the bill by thousands…That, coupled with new batteries and solar cells coming online, means that solar is no longer a rich's man's solution to rising energy costs -- especially since rates are likely to increase under climate legislation.

"Solar also is benefiting from tax credits and rebates, primarily a generous 30 percent federal energy credit. And, between the interest expressed…[by political] leaders and the federal stimulus program, there could be more incentives for Utah in the near future…[adding to the appeal of allowing homeowners to cut their utility bills significantly and the solar industry’s ability to generate new jobs]…"


VITAL JOB IN CLIMATE FIGHT IS COUNTING
Hot Job: Calculating Products' Pollution
Ana Campoy, September 1, 2009 (Wall Street Journal)

"…[I]n these days of global-warming worries and greener-than-thou marketing, companies suddenly can't get enough of [Nuno da Silva's professional pollution calculator] services. Revenue at the division he manages exploded 150% in 2008 and continues to expand this year, despite the recession. Since the beginning of 2008, he has added 13 people to his staff, bringing the number of employees to 16…[at] the U.S. division of a German environmental consulting company, PE International…

"Concerns about greenhouse gases and other environmental hazards have spurred governments and companies to try to reduce the environmental impact of everything from auto fuels to water bottles. The first step in doing that is to assess the pollution those products impose…"

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"Wal-Mart Stores Inc.'s most recent environmental effort -- a bid to tag all of its products with information about their environmental impact -- will force hundreds of its suppliers to inventory their pollution, which many expect will create a boom for the pollution-counting profession…Using computer models, [pollution counters] process information about the energy and resources consumed by making, using and disposing of a product. At each stage, a product's effects on the soil, water and air are tracked to come up with what is known as a life-cycle assessment.

"…[At] DuPont Co., the in-house group that does life-cycle assessments has grown from three members to 10 in the past six years…At New Balance…a "green team" [calculated]…that the materials that go into the shoes, rather than the trip from overseas, take the bigger toll on the environment…Although life-cycle assessments have been around since the 1970s and are fairly common in Europe, the practice has taken off in the U.S. only in the past few years…[T]he profession can be lucrative. Calculating the life-cycle impact of a single product can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars…[S]tarting salaries in [the] field average about $60,000."

Accurately assessing the many dimensions of life cycle emissions is vital and will provide lots of work. (click to enlarge)

"The first step in doing a life-cycle assessment is collecting data on the environmental impact of the different processes involved, from extracting raw materials to transforming them in a factory. Sometimes that means measuring emissions from a smokestack or a tailpipe, but the statistical information often comes from databases compiled by companies like PE International…Most serious counters [folliow] the Geneva-based International Organization for Standardization [guidelines]...But no clear rules govern the assessments, whose conclusions can vary sharply…and there are no enforcement mechanisms…

"The American Christmas Tree Association…found that an artificial tree was slightly more environmentally friendly…But the National Christmas Tree Association, which represents tree growers, disputes the findings…[A] life-cycle assessment done for the consumer-products giant Unilever found that smaller bottles of more-concentrated laundry detergent would save water, reduce packaging material and cut greenhouse-gas emissions from transportation…But consumers continued to choose bigger bottles…Only after Wal-Mart banned nonconcentrated detergents from its shelves did Unilever make inroads with its pollution-counter-approved product."